Chapter 18 Summary

Amara reverts to her old ways in Josefa's absence. She stops standing upright, refuses to wear her shift, and spends a lot of time skulking in corners. Sor Blancha now takes care of Amara, and one day she realizes that the "Ssfa! Ssfa!" sound that Amara makes is the child's attempt to say Josefa. Sor Blancha rushes Amara to Josefa's bed, and Amara curls up at Josefa's feet.

The nuns begin teaching Amara the names of things, and soon she has a vocabulary of several dozen words. After so many months of little change, Amara is now rapidly transforming. She learns quickly, and now walks upright on straightened legs. Unless someone saw Amara eat, they might think she is a regular 13 year old.

Josefa notices, however, that in many ways Amara is very different than Josefa's younger brothers. The brothers never sat still...